Sunday, April 30, 2023

THE RAVEN AND THE DOVE (WHY TWO BIRDS?) - THE LOG CHURCH SERMON, APRIL 30

What was there about Noah that caused God to look upon him with favor?

Like many saints of old, we really do not know very much about this man. What we do know is that the society of his day was extremely wicked, perhaps more so than any society which has ever lived. It must have been so to provoke such a severe judgment from God.

However, we do not know any of the particulars of the people of that day. We do not know for what reasons God declared the society to be so wicked. Nevertheless, as we read the account in chapter 6 of Genesis, God’s assessment of the people demonstrated the extreme depth of depravity to which they had descended.

“The Lord saw that the wickedness of man was great in the earth, and that every intention of the thoughts of his heart was only evil continually.”

Thursday, April 27, 2023

CONCRETE WORK AT THE LOG CHURCH ORPHANAGE

             Despite occasional rainy skies, we praise God that the concrete work was completed for the first story. No ready-mix or pumper truck, all the work was done by hand with two gasoline powered mixers and a power winch to lift the cement up to the floor.

            The videos are not clear, but you can get the idea of how the work was done. The photos below may help more.


We were pressed to get this stage of the building done, since all of the forms were in place.
Also, there is the fact that we must move ahead. Both the builder and the cement company were kind enough to complete this work on credit. As you can see in Pastor Joel's accounting below, after the deposit, we still had a debt of something over $11,000.

Praise God that we were given a gift of $10,000, most of which we were able to put toward the debt. However, the orphanage was


again out of food, so we used $3000 to buy food. Alas, that $3000 will not go too far in feeding all of the kids and staff, perhaps about 10 days.

Of course, food is the constant need, and despite the fact that it costs close to $10,000/month so


that all the kids and staff can eat, and despite the fact that there have been times of hunger, we praise God that for these past 6 years, we have been blessed.

Concerning the school building, we already see that God may have other uses for it. I will share more

about this in the future, but the next step now is to completely finish the ground floor, complete with doors and windows and toilet. With the help of God, this will be done to move on with what He has planned.

Below is the report from Joel:

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Dear beloved Dad, Mum, Church,

and all Donors,

Greetings from Kenya church family,

We thank God for all of you for the provision towards the Log Orphanage and the work in Kenya. Be assured that what you have given is what has done this


great work. Thank you for those who sent the deposit for the cement.

We were able today to begin to pour concrete. The work began by the grace of God. Thank you for your love and prayers. Yes we have to pay the building company

for the material supplied on debt, but now we have it in place.

Please keep praying for the work in Kenya and for the provision to clear the debt. 

Praise and glory goes to God for this great work that is done by His hand through you. Thank you for


who blog readers, we are humbled for you all for hearing God and moved to help.

Sure, we wish you come all and eye witnesses the work God has done. Yes we have the great journey ahead, we have come back as one leper to thank all as a

testimony for your generousity. Beloved families we are praying for you all.

We request your prayers and help to complete the project of school to help our community to eradicate illiteracy and make gospel to reach the unreached as also this school as Godly center where people will have encounters God. Thank you once again.

May God bless you all, kindly pray for the food and other needs. We love you all and treasure you in our hearts. Thank you. God bless you all really good, we call you blessed.

Best regards.

Son Joel and Church Leadership.

Sunday, April 23, 2023

LIFE AFTER FAILURE - THE LOG CHURCH SERMON, APRIL 23

Moses knew what it was to experience failure. He endured several. In thinking about these times of disappointment that he experienced, we probably primarily think about his first attempt at leading his people while he still was part of the palace life in Egypt. Who else, if not he, would be the logical choice to lead the people? After all, he had connections with all of the important officials of Egypt.

One day, as Moses journeyed out of the palaces of the Pharaoh of Egypt to see how his Hebrew people were living, he saw a slave being beaten by an Egyptian. The aggression of the Egyptian enraged Moses. Coming to the defense of the man, Moses struck and killed the Egyptian and hid his body in the sand.

Mistakenly thinking that this act would be commended by the Hebrew people, the very next day Moses tried to intervene in a dispute between two Hebrew men. To his probable surprise, instead of recognizing that Moses could be the person who could lead their people to freedom, one of the men chided him, “Who made you ruler and judge over us?  Are you planning to kill me as you killed the Egyptian?”

This failure in what Moses saw as his noble attempt to help his people hit him hard. He fled Egypt and retreated to the distant and isolated land of Midian. In his desire to free his Hebrew people, Moses may have been correct in his assessment of the value of what he tried to do, but incorrect in how he tried to go about doing it. It was a failure from which it took him forty years to recover.

Moses tried to put that catastrophe of the rejection of his people behind him by fleeing, but he found that he could not escape. A failure of this magnitude will always follow one wherever he goes.

Tuesday, April 18, 2023

WHAT IS HAPPENING IN THE LOG CHURCH ORPHANAGE


The school calendar in Kenya is set up differently than the way it is generally done here in the US. In Kenya, instead of having one long school year with a single summer vacation, their school year runs throughout the year, separated by shorter two-week breaks in between each of the three terms. There is also usually a mid-term break of about three days for each term.

When we were in Kenya last month, the kids were on their mid-term break for the first term of the year. Now, at the end of this week, this first term will come to an end. They will then have two weeks of holiday, starting again the 8th of May.

The Covid year of 2020 played havoc with the

school year. In that year the schools were mostly closed. For the past two years, 2021 and 2022, it seemed like the school ran the entire year through with hardly any break whatsoever (or just a couple days now and then). The Ministry of Education did this to “catch up” for the lost Covid year. This year is closer to the normal.

This year we have four of the orphans who will be completing their secondary education at the end of this school year. They will be our first graduates. Two of these would like to go on to study and prepare for ministry, either as pastors of other Christian workers.

We are at the moment checking on local Bible Universities, but I have also been in contact with

some former colleagues of mine when I worked in various countries in setting up Bible training centers in areas outside of major population centers.

Please pray for these possibilities. Pray also for the use of our own school building in this. We are praying that this building can be used for multiple purposes.

Concerning the building of our own school at the orphanage, we also are on a bit of a hold right now. As you can see in the photos, the forms are all set, the rebar is wired together, the conduit for the wire runs are all in place, and all is ready for the concrete.

But we have no funding right now to

continue. We are praying that God will provide this soon. It is not good to leave all of the prepared forms exposed too long to the weather during this rainy season.

Thanks for your prayers!





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If you would like to help the children of the Log Church Orphanage of Kisii, Kenya, you may make your check out to “The Log Church” and write “Orphans” on the memo line.

Send it to:

 The Log Church

PO  Box 68

Tripoli Wisconsin 54564

We now need to pay a wire transfer fee with every payment, which amounts to $50 each time, but other than that, your donated money will be used only for purchasing food, clothing, schooling, and other necessities of living. We wait until we have $4000-$5000 before we make the bank transfer to make each transfer more economical. Nothing is held back or diverted for any other purpose. Thanks!

Report of last bank transfer below:

Sunday, April 16, 2023

PERSEVERANCE - THE LOG CHURCH SERMON, APRIL 16

I have fought the good fight, I have finished the course, I have kept the faith; in the future there is laid up for me the crown of righteousness, which the Lord, the righteous Judge, will award to me on that day; and not only to me, but also to all who have loved His appearing. (2 Timothy 4:7-8 NAS)


In the woods in back of the farm where I was raised are the ruins of an old farming homestead. The house and small barn of the old place have now long since collapsed, leaving nothing but the rotting logs of the buildings.

When I was a boy however, the shell of the old log house was still standing, shaded by tall hemlock trees by its side. The roof of the house had mostly fallen in, and the floor had been torn up by some kids who had heard the boyhood tale that the family that once lived there had buried some treasure under the floor boards. There was no glass in the windows of course. I am sure they were the first things to be broken. Nevertheless, despite this early vandalism, the log walls of the house still stood straight.

The fields around the house were grown up in poplars and alders. The fence rows of stone that once had surrounded the fields had also long ago toppled, and trees grew through the stones. The farmstead had a look of total abandonment.

As a young lad, I would often meander around this old farm site and wonder about this family who lived there before I was born.

Sunday, April 9, 2023

THE BRONZE SERPENT - THE LOG CHURCH SERMON, EASTER SUNDAY, 2023

Some of the stories that come to us from the time that the Israelites wandered for forty years in the wilderness are really almost incredible. To some people, they are indeed incredible—so much so that they dismiss of the stories down as legend. One of these is the story of the Bronze Serpent.

I do not. I see this as something that actually happened. It was something that God brought about for our instruction.

The story goes like this: The Israelites were complaining. This, at least, was not new. The entire forty years that they were in the wildness after the exodus from Egypt can be chronicled by the times that they were murmuring or complaining about something. We fault them for this, but I wonder what many of us would have done under similar circumstances. Every day the Israelites got up to a day much like the previous one—wandering over a hot and dry desert with seemingly no real objective in mind.

But if you remember the entire story, this situation was really of their own doing. It was just because the people had complained so much and had exhibited such lack of faith that their trip through the wilderness was almost directionless for so long. The Israelites had witnessed God’s miraculous interventions on their behalf in the Exodus from the land of Egypt, and yet they continued to doubt and to try God’s patience.

Friday, April 7, 2023

I DIED ALONGSIDE OF JESUS - THE LOG CHURCH GOOD FRIDAY SERVICE

The Anguish of "Good" Friday

We call the day “Good.” — “Good Friday.”

I suppose that we call it good because it was on that day, the day that Jesus died, that the price was paid for our redemption.

But for the disciples of that day, it was not good. It was not good for the apostles, and it was not good for the other followers of Jesus. It was not good for Mary, the mother of Jesus, nor for the other women who were his followers. It was not good for the several others who, after Jesus had been crucified, retreated behind locked doors out of fear of the Jews.

The day for all of these people was not good. It was the darkest of all possible days.

These people were not only followers of Jesus, but they had placed every hope that they had in him. They did not have an option number two.

And now, Jesus was dead.

******************

Of course, before he died Jesus had told them that they should wait for three days, after which he would rise from the dead. But these words of Jesus were for them, too difficult to grasp. Despite the very clear meaning of what Jesus said, they had put these words into the same category as other enigmatic sayings of Jesus. They either did not take what he had told them literally, or perhaps they simply did not understand.[i]

The only thing that was clear to them on this day was that Jesus had died. It was the worst form of death. They saw him die. No one ever survived the cross.

It was not “Good Friday” for them. It was the darkest of all possible days.

*************************

Today we celebrate Good Friday almost without thought. We color our Easter eggs and we hide baskets of candy. Most years there is a feeling spring in the air and we are in good spirits. Friday is the day for us to plan our happy weekend gatherings.

For very many people, Good Friday is no different at all from any other Friday. It is a good day for them because it is the last day of the workweek. The weekend is here. TGIF—Thank God It’s Friday!

But we cannot know the joy and the deeper meaning of Resurrection Sunday if we miss the agony of Good Friday. On this Friday, try to imagine the despair of the disciples on that day some 2000 years ago. They saw every hope in their lives dashed to pieces. Every single good thing had been taken away.

Whether we are conscious of it or not, this is exactly our own despair without Christ. Hope itself is dead. There is no option number two. If Christ is dead to you, you are among the most miserable of creatures and of all people most to be pitied.[ii]

It only when we come to full realization of our hopeless condition without Christ that we can know his resurrected life. Friday will pass. Sunday is coming.



[i] Matthew 16:21; Mark 8:31; John 20:9

[ii] 1 Corinthians 15:13-19

String Symphony No. 12: 2nd movement Felix Mendelssohn (composer)


I Died Alongside of Jesus

A Monologue

I don’t have a name that you would recognize, but it was a name many people in Jerusalem once knew. My name was one that they hated.

I was a robber, but not just a typical thief. My partner and I became notorious for the terror that we exacted on the people of Jerusalem and the surrounding areas. We prided ourselves for escaping capture for so long. I held great disdain for the law and for the people. I actually enjoyed terrorizing the people. It made me feel powerful and invincible.

However, in the end, my partner and I were caught. The courts tried, convicted and sentenced us. So hated were we that the sentence was the worst one that they could possibly give us. Not only was it execution, but it was execution by crucifixion, the most excruciating kind of death.

I almost did not care. I hated these people so much! I was almost glad to be taken away from them. My hatred for these people had grown so much that I also had come to hate my own life. I hated even life itself. I was glad to die! I loathed life!

But crucifixion is not a quick death. It sometimes takes days to die.

Wednesday, April 5, 2023

THE CALL TO A QUIET PLACE - THE LOG CHURCH SERMON, APRIL 2

If you have ever been on any kind of a special assignment, whether it is for the military or even in the business world, you have heard of the concept of the “debriefing” at the end of the task. When astronauts come back to earth, there is always a debriefing with NASA. When a special military op returns after a mission, there is always a debriefing of the unit. Even in business, when a company sends a group of employees on an assignment to explore new opportunities, there is always a debriefing upon their return.

These debriefing sessions are conducted to glean what knowledge can be gained from those who were involved with the mission, either the mission into outer space, the mission into enemy territory, or the mission to explore untapped potential for business. It helps in the training, the planning, and the preparation for what might be the following steps.

But the debriefing is also very important for those who actually were involved with the assignment itself. It is important for the astronauts, it is important for the soldiers, and it is important for the business people. During the actual performance or the execution of the task, the busyness of what must be done while involved with the project often takes up all of the time for the people involved, and all of their mental and emotional energies. They have little time to self-assess—little time for thought at all. They are just trying to get things done! Often it is mostly their training that determines their actions, not that they necessarily had time to think things through.

Debriefing in the Church

Although we do not often think of the concept of debriefing in relation to the church, it is also important in many of the tasks that we do. Since I have been involved with the work of the church mostly in terms of foreign missions, I think of the debriefing concept in relation to this type of work when returning from other countries.

Saturday, April 1, 2023

KENYA 2023 - OUR FINAL DAY IN KISII

It was Sunday and our final day in Kisii. It was to be a special day. Everyone from the church were expected to the church service, as well as many from the local area. Also expected to be there would be several who would make the 4½ hour walk from the Nyakembene church, the church where we had been on the previous Sunday.

Amos came to the hotel to pick up Vivian and I and Larry at about 10:00, although the service had already been underway before that time. But Pastor Joel told me on the day before that it was to be a short service, since we would all have a meal afterwards.

On the evening before, Pastor Vincent had arrived at the hotel with a package for us. The church in Matagaro had wanted to give us a gift. On one day earlier in the week, a man had arrived at the orphanage with a cloth tape measure in hand—the kind that tailors and seamstresses use. He took the measurements for Larry, for Vivian, and for myself. Neck size, chest, waist, hips, arm length, wrist size, pant inseam—I think there were also a couple more measurements. We were being fitted for a special and traditional Kisii suit of clothes.

After Vincent left. we tried our new suits on. Of course they fit perfectly. Emblazoned diagonally across the front of my shirt were the words, “Kenya loves you Dad.” Vivian’s was “Kenya loves you Mum Vivian. Larry had a similar shirt. He told me that on the day before, he had been asked how his name was spelled. They asked him a few times because they have trouble pronouncing the sound for the letter “R.” At the time, he did not know why they were so inquisitive, but when he saw the shirt, he knew.

We all three put them on, and if you saw us walking into the church dressed in our suits, you would have thought we were a singing group from the 60’s, there to perform some R&B, except of course, we were the wrong color.

Before we left Wisconsin, Vivian had prepared 116 cards with verses written on them, all of different colors and each one laminated so they will stay nice. At that time before we left for Kenya, Joel told that there were 107 children in the church. Vivian made so many cards so that all the children could each to receive one. At one point in the service, they made a long line to receive one each. But on that day, there were many more children present, many from the village and surrounding area had also come. Unfortunately, some of the visiting children did not receive one her verse cards.

We also brought a couple of banners that were hanging in our Log Church in Wisconsin. Vivian presented them to the church for them to hang on their walls. We had done the same on the previous week at Nyakembene.

The service itself featured much music. Again we were treated by watching those with what they call “the gift of dance.” It is their way of praising God, they tell me. It truly is an amazing gift to watch, and I have to say, it is done with such joy that one cannot but help but share in that joy.


There was a lot of singing and dancing and much joy expressed by the congregation. I enjoyed hearing the special sound that the ladies make in those lands, the ululation. This is a special sort of trill. If you have not heard it you may want to look up a youtube video on it.

Also, as the week before, I was to bring the message. Pastor Vincent was to translate. Before I began, we both stood on the stage, he at my side, perhaps a few feet away. I was waiting for him to make some sort of introduction. He did not. He just stood and kept silent.

Not knowing why he was doing this, I also kept silent. I actually thought that he was going to at least say some words in the local language, Ekegusii. He did not. He just stood there looking at the congregation.


I also stood silent, doing the same. There were some in the congregation who thought this a little strange and giggled a little. But Vincent and I just stood in silence. After a while, the giggles died down. Some of the young girls began to sing softly. Others had their heads down as if they were praying. I saw some people with tears in their eyes.

But I stood still, waiting for Vincent.

I waited. Five minutes. Ten minutes. I actually do not know how long Vincent and I stood in silence, but I later asked Vivian and Larry. They said it must have been between 15 and 20 minutes. Vincent and I just stood in silence, but I could tell that the Holy Spirit was not silent. Later, several people shared with me what they had experienced at that time.

After that long period of stillness, I stepped over to Vincent and whispered, “I’m just going to begin.”

“It’s ok,” he replied.

Before I gave my planned message, I commented on the silence. I had thought about what I was going to say as I was standing and waiting. I told the people that one of my customs at home was to rise early in the morning, usually before the sun has risen. I just sit in silence. It is a time when there are no distractions. I sit in the darkness, so there are even no distractions coming to my vision. No sound.

It is a time that I simply sit in silence and allow God to speak. Slowly the light of the sun begins to illuminate the sky. The first birds begin to sing. My day has begun.

Although this time of extended silence in the church was unplanned, I think that I can see the Lord’s hand in it. The worship services in Kenya are very vocal and very visual. They are loud. There is constant activity and performance.

This time of sitting quietly I think was something quite unique to them in church, and by the testimonies given to me, it had been a meaningful time for many.

To my amazement, of the more than 116 children present, during the entire 15-20 minutes, there was no crying, no wiggling, and no talking. All sat quietly. Later, Joel told me in all there were about 720 people present (I am not sure how he came up with that number). After the initial giggling and whispers, all sat silently except for some soft singing.

“In repentance and rest you will be saved, In quietness and trust is your strength” (Isaiah 30:15).


After the service we had a meal for all present—all 720 people. It was a major endeavor that seemed to turn out well. The pastors of the church and the leaders did a good job in giving instructions, and all received a filling meal of ugali (a white corn mash, with a consistency of hard mashed potatoes), beans, and either chicken or goat meat.

When the meal was over, Vincent and I were standing alone in the front of the church, just in front of the stage. We had both of us been just walking around and talking to people. We simply happened to meet at that point in front of the church. We stopped to talk for a moment, and I asked him what was the purpose of the long time of silence before the message.

He said, “I was just waiting for you to begin.”

“You were waiting for me?” I asked, then added, “I was waiting for you!”

“No, no,” her replied. “I am only the translator. I do what you do, and speak only when you speak.”

As we were talking, another line began to form—spontaneously. This one coming to us. This also had not been planned, but as I said, Vincent and I had only happened to meet each other at that spot and stopped to talk. But as we talked, a line formed to speak to us, one by one.

They had come so that we could pray for them.

The first was a young lady. She spoke to Vincent in Ekegusii, who then translated for me. “She has evil visions coming to her at night. She asks you to pray for her.”

Next a mother asked for prayer for her four sons. “Kindly pray that they will have money to attend school.”

Another girl asked for prayer so that she could concentrate in school. “My mind cannot stay focused on what the teacher is saying,” she told us.

One young man wanted prayer for deliverance from alcoholism.

Another young lady asked for prayer about her stomach pains and worries.

There were others as well. I prayed for each one, laying my hand either on their head or on their shoulder. Vincent translated my prayers.

It was our last day in Kisii. It was a day I will not forget. It was a day full of unexpected blessings. More than any of me other visits, this visit was the most personal. More than before, we were able to make strong personal connections with the people. It was a visit blessed and directed by the Lord.

“Praise the Living God!”

“Praise the Living God again!”